Field
The present application relates generally to wireless communications, and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for secure and efficient discovery of infrastructure services on a network.
Background
In many telecommunication systems, communications networks are used to exchange messages among several interacting spatially-separated devices. Networks may be classified according to geographic scope, which could be, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area. Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network (WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), or personal area network (PAN). Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique used to interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g., circuit switching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed for transmission (e.g., wired vs. wireless), and the set of communication protocols used (e.g., Internet protocol suite, SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking), Ethernet, etc.).
Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements are mobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the network architecture is formed in an ad hoc, rather than fixed, topology. Wireless networks employ intangible physical media in an unguided propagation mode using electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave, infra-red, optical, etc. frequency bands. Wireless networks advantageously facilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment when compared to fixed wired networks.
The devices in a wireless network may transmit/receive information between each other. In general, some devices may serve as access points (APs) for a network, which other devices may connect to access functions of the network. Different APs may offer varying services to devices connected to those APs. Examples of services include music service, video service, print service, photo service, information service, and storage service. Thus, improved systems, methods, and devices for providing an efficient process for devices to discover a service which may be accessed through the AP are desired.